Is safe drinking water a human right?

Here in the United States, having clean water is not something most of us think about to often. Most of us living in this part of the world take our clean and plentiful water for granted.  However that is not true for all of the U.S., California is in the middle of a very large shortage of water.  California is an example of a domestic water shortage, but what about the rest of the world.  In the spectrum of things, the United States has some of the most, and cleanest fresh water in the world.  This is because of our wealth and advances in infrastructure.  We have water treatment plants all around the country, and endless miles of pipes carrying water to all of us.  But what is it like in the rest of the world?  Millions of people are not as fortunate as us in first world countries are.  First here are some things to consider you may find shocking.  85% percent of the world’s population lives in the driest half of our planet.  A disturbing 780 million people live without clean drinking work. 

 (http://www.seametrics.com/blog/global-water-crisis-facts/)

Some continents are much worse off than others.  For example 1/3 of Africa’s population lacks access to clean and safe drinking water.  While the infrastructure is getting better around the world for carrying water to more people, our climate situation is getting worse.  By 2050, five times as much of the world will be in drought conditions.  By 2035, the world’s energy consumption will increase by 35 percent, which in turn will increase water use by 15 percent according to the International Energy Agency.  Our world’s population is also increasing at alarming rates.  This means more mouths to feed.  And creating food is a huge source of water consumption. There will be about 1 billion more mouths to feed worldwide by 2025 and global agriculture alone will require another 1 trillion cubic meters of water per year.  This is equal to the annual flow of 20 Niles or 100 Colorado Rivers.  Which is a simply ridiculous amount of water.  All this is alarming data.  But there is one question that we have to ask our selves.  Is having clean and safe drinking water a human right?  Online you can find some controversy surrounding the subject but the UN (United Nations) has issued a statement with their answer to it.  On July 28, 2010 through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights.  In short hand, this means everyone is entitled to have clean drinking water.  Which is a very nice thing to say and think about, but what about making it actually happen?  Well, that is what the UN and governments around the world are trying to accomplish.  But it is truly a daunting task.  The amount of infrastructure that needs to be put into place and the cost associated with it is truly unimaginable.  But that is why we are striving to come up with new and cost effective methods everyday. 

(www.salon.com)